Paraffin and other petroleum waxes in the southern North Sea.

Petroleum waxes (PWs) are recognized as ubiquitously emerging marine pollutants. However, knowledge on their occurrence, particularly as persistent floaters of small size (<5 mm) in marine surface water, is scarce. For this study, 24 samples were collected in the North Sea by net-sampling (100 μm-mesh).

The potential for dispersant use as a maritime oil spill response measure in German waters.

In case of an oil spill, dispersant application represents a response option, which enhances the natural dispersion of oil and thus reduces coating of seabirds and coastal areas. However, as oil is transferred to the water phase, a trade-off of potential harmful effects shifted to other compartments must be performed. This paper summarizes the results of a workshop on the current knowledge on risks and benefits of the use of dispersants with respect to specific conditions encountered at the German sea areas.

Passive Sampling in Regulatory Chemical Monitoring of Nonpolar Organic Compounds in the Aquatic Environment.

We reviewed compliance monitoring requirements in the European Union, the United States, and the Oslo-Paris Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic, and evaluated if these are met by passive sampling methods for nonpolar compounds. The strengths and shortcomings of passive sampling are assessed for water, sediments, and biota. Passive water sampling is a suitable technique for measuring concentrations of freely dissolved compounds.

Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) for purification and extraction of silicone passive samplers used for the monitoring of organic pollutants.

Silicone passive samplers have gained an increasing attention as single-phased, practical and robust samplers for monitoring of organic contaminants in the aquatic environment in recent years. However, analytical challenges arise in routine application during the extraction of analytes as silicone oligomers are co-extracted and interfere severely during chemical analyses (e.g.

Relational information processing of novel unrelated actions by infants.

Declarative memory in infants is often assessed via deferred imitation. Not much is known about the information processing basis of the memory effect found in these experiments. While in the typical deferred imitation study the order of actions remains the same during demonstration and retrieval, in two experiments with n=30 respective n=25, 10- and 11-month-old infants, the order of novel unrelated actions in demonstration and retrieval was varied (same, reversed, mixed).

Long-term effects of the Aznalcóllar mine spill-heavy metal content and mobility in soils and sediments of the Guadiamar river valley (SW Spain).

In 1998, a toxic spill from a pyrite mine (Aznalcóllar, SW Spain) contaminated some 40 km2 of the Agrio and Guadiamar river valley with heavy metal-enriched tailings sludge and acidic mine water. The aim of this study is to describe the long-term effects of heavy metal migration particularly with respect to the extent of vertical redistribution of As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, S, Sb and Zn in soils and sediments of the river Guadiamar 4 years after the accident. For an assessment of the mobility behaviour, chemical associations of Cu, Pb, Sb and Zn in depth profiles polluted by tailings were determined by using sequential extraction procedures.